Walnut rugelach is rich and flaky, but has few ingredients./Wikimedia Commons
OK – I admit it. I love the rugelach sold at grocery stores. Rugelach, or “little twists” in Yiddish, are easy to make, have few ingredients and taste so much better than the store-bought ones.
I tasted this recipe at a cookie exchange years ago, and it’s become a part of my family’s holiday tradition. This flaky, cinnamon-laden rugelach recipe comes from the files of a family friend.
Rugelach can also be made with yeast, but it takes planning – the dough has to be refrigerated overnight. This is the faster, but no less delicious, version.
Ingredients
For the pastry:
8 oz. cream cheese at room temperature
½ cup salted butter at room temperature
2 cups all-purpose white flour
For the filling:
3 tbsp. melted butter
1 cup finely chopped walnuts
3 tbsp. granulated white sugar
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
Method
For the pastry:
In a stand mixer, beat the butter and cream cheese until they are smooth and blended. Add the flour ½ cup at a time, beating between additions.
Scoop the dough out of the mixing bowl, separate into 3 equal pieces, wrap in waxed paper and chill 1 hour.
For the filling:
Combine the walnuts, sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl.
Assemble the rugelach:
Preheat the oven to 350°.
Spray AirBake cookie sheets with no-stick spray and set aside.
Roll out one of the chilled pieces of dough into a circle on a floured surface.
Brush the dough with 1 tbsp. of melted butter.
Spoon 1/3 of the walnut filling over the melted butter and smooth to a uniform layer.
Cut the circle of dough into 12 wedges. Roll each wedge, starting with the outside edge, so the narrow point is on the outside.
Repeat with the two remaining portions of dough.
Place the rolled rugelach on the cookie sheet pan so the spiral is visible from above.
Bake 10-12 minutes until lightly browned.
Cool on a wire rack.
Makes 36 gorgeous little cookies that won’t last 10 minutes!
Cook’s notes:
This recipe can easily be converted to the jam-filled rugelach the grocery stores carry by replacing the nut filling with a thin layer apricot or seedless raspberry jam. Try other fruit jams.
To make chocolate rugelach, add 1 tbsp. ground sweetened chocolate to the nut mixture and eliminate the cinnamon. Or not. Cinnamon and chocolate taste great together.
More information:
Here is a terrific slideshow on how to make rugelach. Take a look at some of the recipes such as the raspberry-raisin version, a kosher version and an Israeli-style chocolate-filled rugelach.
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